In the world of Golarion, constant demon threats were usually regional or situational to certain times of the year when their magic was strongest from olden times from the Age of Darkness or just the words of mothers told their children if they ever wandered too far. Or even that of the land of Cheliax, where such things were near common place to speak of, possibly even encounter when visiting the nation state dedicated to Asmodeus, the God of Hell...but none could have predicated that an invasion from the Plane of Abyss to come so suddenly and so strongly...

Nearly 20 years ago, rumor has it that it all started with a demented Aasimar Cleric who forsake his heritage due to a turbulent past of ridicule and jealousy made him jaded of his angelic heritage an he reached out to the quick promises an temptations of the Devils and Demons of the underworld for ultimate power and even immortality. He was never given a direct response from them, only snip-its of power an a touch of fiendish blood in his veins, yet his true desires remained unanswered or deflected for their own agendas. After years an years of study from old tomes and other contracts from sources unknown, he was able to do the unthinkable...obtain the four most powerful Demon Lords True names an force them into a binding contract. However, just as he was about to finish the ritual a band of heroes who heard of his plot came in and there was a powerful battle raged an the binding spells that summoned the lords there broke an released them without any restriction; ushering in a Second Dark Age...

However, before they perished along with the cleric who summoned them, the wizard and priest of the adventurers who tried to stop them made a fail-safe by stealing and sealing away each of the Lords Phylacteries into different regions of the world, as a hope that some other heroes may finished what they had failed to accomplish. Alas, for over two decades none rose to the challenge; the lords built portals in each of the first cities they overtook in each of their home regions, summoning more hordes to their aid in order to overtake the Material Plane. Many armies an nations rose an rallied together after five years of infighting once they realized it was pointless to cast blame on each other when the enemy kept drawing nearer. That too was realized too late as they had to recall their armies back to their capitals to protect themselves from the onslaught of the demonic hordes bashing on their gates every new dusk; there was no nation left with the manpower to try an stop the source, only slowly delay the inevitable from coming perhaps a decade or so sooner.

However, after many years of searching for the sites of the artifacts, a lone librarian had collected enough materials about the origins of the Demon Lords to see where the previous heroes had hidden the Phylacteries and was meeting with a band of three individuals with whom he would hope restore balance to the world...

The fateful night of this gathering against the forces of evil and darkness would occur in a very ironic locale; a broken down church in the city of Tamran, in the region of Nirmathas. It had hired a plethora of mercenaries or other able-bodied personnel to help protect the young nation from the demon horde an thankfully, due to it's low population an non-importance to the take over of the four corners of Antivan continent, has been able to hold off the demonic horde. A church to Abadar, tall and old stood there with it's doors broken down from a zealot attacking it years ago when the invasion first began left it an abandoned building an a perfect place to meet with heroes to help bring back the world to order.

A man was waiting at the base of the platform before a stained and dusty fake golden scale, the symbol of the Lawful Merchant god and could be heard muttering some prayers as he waited for the three he invited to show up. It was evening an the sun was beginning to set in the distance, casting a dime light into the church and gave the feeling of despair from the reflection of the shattered glass on the ground an the reddish glow of the horizon perfectly captured the abysmal atmosphere of the world's current condition. "May those who I saw potential in come soon, I fear the darkness has caught wind of the slim chance of hope we have found..."

((For those invovled with this campaign before it's creation, please make an intro post for me with a general description of what your character looks like an the reason they would come to help this scholar try to bring the world from it's current doom))

Towa Faedan, a Half-elf member of the Iron Valkyries, a militant faction made up solely of women whom train under the faith of Gorum in order to fight the Demon hordes, would enter the decrepit building from the main entrance. The man would see a small, robed figure with a scythe slung over its back. To ensure the man she was not one of them, she would hold her right hand out to him, showing him her tattoo of the symbol of Gorum, the god of war. She would then lower her hood, revealing the appearance of a young, half-elf woman. Her head adorned with a feathered headdress, and her long, brown hair, which appears to extend down to her mid-back. She has green eyes and appears to be just over 5 feet tall with her scythe appearing to be at least a foot taller than her.

"So, how long until the other two arrive? I wanna see if these other two are truly worth me teaming up with rather than those of my normal unit. I've already had plenty of experience fighting and killing those bastards, so I don't need anyone holding me back."

Asher is an Aasimar born in Absalom from two human parents, born at the very start of the invasion.

From the moment he was born, he was granted divine power. Fearing that the seventh church would take notice of their son and attempt to recruit him to help fight the invasion, Asher's parents fled with him to a nearby city. With the state of the world, Asher and his family moved from town to town, trying to find someplace that was truly a safe haven.

This went on for many years, all the while, Asher learned to refine his divine powers. However, in a world overun with evil and monsters, he realized cure spells can only get one so far, so he turned to other sources of power (those of a witch) to help him and his family survive.

After reaching adulthood, he became disillusioned with the nomadic lifestyle of his family. He was tired of always running, his Aasimar blood and divine gift compelling him to do something, anything, to help fix this hellish world. He wanted to help change the world, and perhaps along the way, learn more about his mysterious gift.

It was around this time that he received an invitation from a church in Tamran...

Upon entering the church from the main entrance, Asher would look at the half elf woman and the old man and say "Greetings, I am Asher" Giving a formal bow as he did so. "I assume you two received an invitation as well?" Anyone that is looking at him would see a blue skinned Aasimar with white hair and blue eyes. He is wearing a brown colored robe, and has a pair of googles over his head. Closer inspection would reveal a tattoo on his left hand. However, and perhaps most curiously of all, a small scorpion is sitting on his right shoulder. He would look something like this, minus the robot arm, face marking, and arm band:

Zugeta is a half-elf gone mercenary after the loss of his family to a demon horde attack. A kineticist with the power of flame believes that he gained this power by the graces of the Goddess Sarenrae to burn the the evil cursing the world to ash all while making quick easy coin. He did a lot of bounty hunting which helped him hone his craft of sneaking around and taking care of traps all while taking his targets out quickly.

Walking into the church with the hood and mask of his cloak already down, the symbol of the goddess Sarenrae in gold showing on the back of his black cloak, fixing his short brown hair as he yawns almost as if he just woke up from a nap. He then sees everyone standing there, checking out his surroundings as well as the people in front of him. He begins walking toward the two that will soon be his partners. "So this is the dream team huh?" He puts his right arm around Asher and stumbles a bit as he misses the much shorter Towa. He begins looking around almost as if he's confused as to where the second person had gone. "Hey blue, wasn't there someone else here just a second ago?" He then looks down, "Oh there you are, you're a lot shorter than I expected." He then squats down to Towa's eye level squinting his green eyes almost as if he's trying to get a closer look at her. He then starts to pace around her poking at her odd headdress, touches her long hair, and admiring the Gorum symbol she has on her hand before standing back up and patting her on the head. "Well little girl, I admire your passion for combat, but I'm pretty sure this mission is for us big guys." He says as he pats Asher on the shoulder with his left hand. "Also, piece of advice, cut the hair, last thing you'd want is someone or something grabbing onto it and pulling. Oh and by the way your God, Gorum is it?" He sticks his tongue out and makes a discussed sound and face before proceeding. "I think you need to find yourself a better God because he's not a very good one." He then turns to the man praying in front and begins walking toward him and he gets about half way between where the other two are standing and the man before speaking again while still moving closer to the man. "You know, I don't know how it is you know who I am or got this letter to me, but no where in the job description does it say anything about having to babysit. That's going to cost you extra if this isn't a joke and she really is tagging along. And also, can we get blue a jacket because he looks a little cold."

"I suggest you change your tone when addressing my god, pretty boy. Insulting me is one thing, but insulting the one who is known for numerous victories as well as being one of the physically strongest gods is only something a fool or someone who thinks highly of their own abilities would do."

Towa would say this as she draws her scythe from her back and rests it across her shoulders, ready to use it if needed.

"If you are the fool, I suggest you reeducate yourself on my god. If you are the braggart who thinks he is so skilled that he can insult the god of war, then draw your weapon, for I shall defend his, as well as my own honor with my life if necessary. This scythe has tasted the blood of demons twice your size, so taking on you with your dainty little bow will pose little, if any threat at all. I won't even need the blessings handed down to me from my god, nor any spells to make you submit and rethink your actions. I have trained for the last 15 years of my life to do one thing, slay demons. A weak looking half-elf like yourself will be nothing."

After a slight pause, she would finish.

"There is a reason as to why the blade of this scythe is black, and it is not the natural color of the metal. It has tasted the blood of soo many demons that the blade was dyed the same color. I'm sure adding another tint of red to it wouldn't hurt."

"I do believe we have all gotten off on the wrong foot. If you two have something to prove to one another, don't you think it would be best to do so on the battlefield? I'm sure whatever this gentlemen gathered us here for will involve plenty of demon killing." As Asher says this, he will put his scorpion back into his familiar satchel.

Zugeta turns around chuckling. “You’re right my blue friend. I had a feeling that you were more of a voice of reason type.” He then points at Towa and gives her a big smile and says “This one though, she’s got some spunk and I like it. Every team needs that edgy person and she fits the bill. Oh and by the way I am very confident in my abilities, especially the ones not involving this bow, and I do appreciate the compliment although I feel pretty is a word more for girls I prefer handsome or dashing. Oh and second tip I have for you is that you definitely should clean that scythe of yours. All that extra blood really must get the demons riled up, especially the ones that’ll smell it coming from miles away. I prefer not leaving a blood trail but hey to each their own I suppose.” He then turns back to the old man. “Alright my good man, I don’t know about you but we should probley get some answers as to what we are here because one, my services, depending on the job, are not cheep and I would prefer to not charge you more than needed. Two, I do have to validate that it is a good cause because otherwise I’m afraid that I can’t be of service to you. And three, as exciting as chatting with the two lovely people behind me has been, time is ticking, people are dying, other people that really need to die, and I’m getting bored.”

"At least we can agree on one thing. Out with it old man. What have you got to say that is soo important that you had to have us meet in such a dingy place like this? It better be worth my time or I'll just go back to slaying those horned bastards like I had been before you called me out here."

Towa would look for a suitable place to sit so that she could at least relax a little bit. If found, she would sit down, take a trail ration out of her cloak pocket and munch on it. Otherwise, she would simply lean against something and do the same.

Towa: You are able to find a pew that still had a seat or two left to sit upon, it even had a cloth draped over it. How convenient!

The old man would sigh heavily, so much that the rest of the part could clearly hear him from the distance that they were. He slowly stood up from his kneeling position and turned around, hunched over; his cloak was grey, his beard was white as the stars in the night sky and his eyes were a dull blue, almost as if he was becoming blind or may already have become so. He coughs a bit an then opens his cloak to reveal a dusty tome in his skeletal hands; it had a very interesting insignia on it, one that was not easily recognized to many or even the most knowledgeable of scholars. "I did not invite you all here to bicker, boast, or gloat about your abilities nor your religious practices...the latter is nearly irrelevant now as this plague has constantly shown that the gods have either abandoned us or left us to fend for ourselves, it matters little to the reason I brought you all here."

He slowly walks towards the three, despite their standing far away from each other, goes to a spot he can be close to all three in the cathedral. "I didn't gather you all to get along perfectly nor to accept each other's ideals...the stake is far greater than that, than money, then possibly your very lives." He said almost angrily but his facial expression gave the impression that he was more so pleading to hear him out rather than squabble. "You all know the tale and stories of the Demon Invasion, the heroes' who had failed to stop it an the slow impending doom that has been facing the world for the last twenty years...however, it wasn't as bad in the past as it has been in the last few years. I'm sure you've heard that several other of the minor nations capitals have already fallen and now Cheliax has as well...such a large nation becoming the foothold for the Demon Lord of all the others has now taken residence there we have seen a dramatic increase in the number of demons an sieges have become nearly daily with no signs of halting." He opens the book up and it was written in a very old language, one would almost see the words shimmering in the little daylight that seeped through the broken windows. "Now you could continue being a merc for hire, yet there will come a day when money no longer means anything...You can try to kill all the demons you can but you'll still end up dying from the endless horde...and you can try to save the people as you come across them but it would only delay the inevitable, like the brave men an women have before you..." He would point a finger at each one respectfully of their performed duties.

"Or...you can listen to this old man an discover the only chance to kill the immortal Demon Lords once an for all, not merely banishment since that doesn't work on the deity like abominations we are dealing with...have any of you ever heard the mysteries behind Phylacteries?" He would ask with a very inquisitive tone as ne held up the book and four different images were drawn on them, representing different things of course.

Towa & Asher: You both recall that Phylacteries were old magical items said to contain the blood of an individual an that one with sufficient magical power could track them down or locate them that way, though there were hints that an even older an more powerful versions existed, however these images were nothing like those that were spoken of in the tomes. Perhaps these were the ones that were referenced or mentioned as the most dangerous kind?

"hmm. yes I have indeed heard of them. They are items said to contain's someone blood, and one powerful enough could locate them. But these specific ones are unfamiliar to me. I can hazard a guess as to where you are going with this, but please continue."

"I've definitely heard of 'em. I know the Iron Valkyries I was raised by have been searching for them for what seems like forever, but they continually come across dead ends whenever they feel like they're getting close to finding one. Tell us, old man, what do you know about them?"

"Yes, that is what the lower tier of Phylacteries can do; a portion of a person's soul is in their blood, hence why wizards an such are able to use it to track someone through the Material plane. Some said they could even track them in the ethereal plane, in some instances...however, their true power of the highest caliber is that they could even contain the person's pure life essence without killing the host and grant them...Immortality." He said with a somber face as he then flipped the page over to show a more detailed image of one of the artifacts; it was that of a statue, possibly of a Frost Giant with a facial expression of pain as he reached to the heavens.

"These Demon Lords have attained such power an were said to keep these items on their person to keep them safe at all times, however one of the final acts of the brave heroes who failed was able to whisk them away an hide them in desolate areas across the land. Only the Demon Lords knew of this action an sent out their horde to try an find them. However, it seems less effort has been put into that venture in the last five years as the sieges have increased yet roaming demon occurrences have lessened. I would say they have decided if they just kill all the humans, or enslave them, they could search for it later. Thus, now is the perfect time to find them an then kill the respective Lord of which it represents. An I wouldn't have called you all here if I didn't know their exact locations already...It took the last decade for me to decipher the text within this tome but I did it; I found their locations!" He said almost excitedly, tears welling up in his eyes.

"However, I am far too old to go off an venture to these areas...hence why I called you three, the three I have seen great promise in to helping bring order back to the world. The renown for being the heralds of the reclaiming of Golarian should come with it it's own reward as well as fame and immortality in legends. Would you not answer the call despite the perils you will face? The lives that may be lost? To save the world?"

"There is no danger too great to dissuade me from taking on a task. Even if the end result of these missions means the death of all the Demon Lords, there will still be plenty of fodder left for me to take on. The loss of life is not something that can be completely avoided with any mission involving foes like these. I've lost enough comrades to know that demons, even the weakest ones, have many ways in which to kill their enemies."

Towa would stand up and walk towards the man, carrying her scythe with it resting upon her shoulder.

"You can count me in, old man. Asher here doesn't look like he is the type to be up close and personal with an enemy and neither does that braggart. Plus, like I said, fighting is kinda my thing, especially when it comes to demons."

Zugeta takes a deep breath giving the impression that he's conflicted and then speaks with a frustrated tone in his voice.

"I'll admit old man, you have managed to do something no one else has managed to do, you have managed to successfully get me to question a job. Now normally, this job would be an easy one to take because it fits all my other jobs. A job that allows me to repay the eternal debt I have to Sarenrae to cleanse the world of evil with the abilities she gifted me, however those jobs I usually get payed. Now the whole thing about danger and death, those don't scare me, I've never been one afraid to die. When I die Sarenrae will take me to a place far better then this hell hole we currently reside in, but I figured I might as well make the most of my time alive and unfortunately temporary fame and a false immortality doesn't allow that to happen...."

He then pauses suddenly, looking down at the glass reflecting what little sunlight is hitting them, he thinks silently momentarily, closes his eyes, takes another deep breath before opening his eyes again and proceeding in a much more relaxed tone.

"I don't know what it is you see in us old man. From what I can tell you chose a man who wants to be a priest or something like that, a sell sword, and a small lady with an ego as big as my own, possibly even bigger." Then he goes back to the happy go lucky way of speaking that he came in with. "However after a brief, I'll admit one sided conversation, with the Goddess Sarenrae we have decided to take you up on this little venture..... and by we she clearly means that I'll be doing the dirty work, but to each their own I suppose." He shakes his head and chuckles a little. "Also, stop with these motivational speeches, makes things really hard to turn down."

"At last someone has found a way to put an end to all of this! You can certainly count me in!" Asher says excitedly.

After taking a brief moment to collect himself Asher clears his throat and says "Besides the obvious question of where the first one is, there is one other thing I am wondering. What do we do with these Phylacteries once we find them? Is it as simple as destroying them with brute force? One other question as well, what is your name? It wouldn't feel right to me, to call you old man."

The old man smiles wearily; hope being instilled into his pale eyes and his posture changing to a taller stance, glad he made the right choice in the group he had chosen to take on the task he started. "You have no idea how happy it makes these old bones to hear you say those words young ones, truly my eyes have started failing me but my sight is as true as ever." He would then close the book an hand it over to Asher, with the thought in mind that he might be able to read it. "Tell me young Asher, are you able to read the language of the eldritch fey? Oh rather in it's common form, Aklo? The wizard wanted to make sure that only the most enlightened individual's would be able to decipher it's text. There are some humans who have...forsaken their humanity an allied themselves with the Demon Lord's, becoming one of like mind to their ilk an debauchery." He would shudder at some old memories it would seem, as the look of disgust would come across his face.

"If you are not able to, please take my dictionary that I've worked on to decipher it myself over time. Pardon the bad writing after page on-hundred and thirty-two, that's about when these fingers lost their best dexterity, haha. But I will be more than happy to go over the several different ways that the book tells of how to destroy them; each item is unique to the Demon Lord it is attached to and I would dare not speak any of their actual names as they have a power that once spoken they could track you from your very spot...an it is no joke, only reference them on paper if you need their True name. Now then, the first one belongs to the Demon of Frost an Cold, in the barbarian lands to the north and-" Before he could finish his sentence, a loud explosion would come from the back of the church, launching debris everywhere an the old man would get impaled by a flying wooden cross, sending him falling to the ground in a heap, with a loud an pained grunt.

As you would look to your left, you would see several figures coming through the dust from the wreckage of the old cathedral; some had wings an others tails an claws, all of them with deep crimsion eyes as they pierced the brown fog that concealed them. "Wy ouliddh oaflv haf, adv hixqil! yaf wmidd laz ywtiey suzm zmywy oaadw sma viry vuwakyh zmy dypal larvw!" A loud an booming voice would suddenly start speaking in a foreign language as they drew their weapons! It looks like it was do or die time now!

Roll Initiative! Along with an verbal reaction and/or drawing your weapon if you like. No abilities or spells unless they can be used as a Swift or Immediate Action!

((If anyone Speaks Infernal, say so in OOC parenthesis like this and I will translate the original post to show the words the demon spoke!

Translation: "We finally found you, old Hazgan! You shall not escape with these fools who dare disobey the demon lords!"

"Those bastards always know just when to show up." Towa would say as she readies herself to fight by expending a use of her Fervor ability(6 left) to cast Divine Favor upon herself, granting her bolstered strength!!

"Let's see what you can do, hot shot. Asher, if you can, see if you can aid the old man first. If he's able to be saved, or we can get any more information out of him, it's more important than anything else. I'll see to it that these bastards don't get close to you as best I can!"

"Of course, no such thing as an easy adventure." Zugeta's eyes begin glow a fire red as he pulls out his bow with his left hand and pulls his mask up over his mouth with his right. He then gets in a fighting stance ready for a fight. "Guess the rest of the introductions will have to wait."

Seeing that there is a clear lane between her and a 'pretty boy' demon, Towa would take a full-round action to charge it. She would stop once she was within the range of her scythe(one square between due to reach), and just before bringing her scythe down on the demon, she would say in Infernal, "Xe'dd wylv haf kitc za zmy odipyw smyry haf kydalq!"

The old man coughs a bit as he recovers some of his lost health an looks up to Asher with a worried look. "No, forget about me! You must go, even if you kill these ones there are sure to be more to follow! This town is more than likely doomed because of me." He said as he reached for a medallion around his neck, it was a holy symbol of some kind he could tell.

The Incubus was unable to block Towa's attack as she connected with her long scythe an shouted in pain from it, an then was quickly tripped from her follow-up attack, landing on his back in a near instant. The other three demons take note of her capabilities an it looks like two of them took interest in her as she spoke their language.

The other incubus 10 feet away from Towa moves so that he can use his ability of Crushing Despair upon her! (DC Will 19)

The demon that looked like a skeleton almost, moves 30 ft so that he is within range of Towa to his use his Longspear on her an attack!

Attack Roll: 1d20+12 = 24ℹ (12 + 12)

Damage: 1d8+7 = 14ℹ (7 + 7)

He was able to sneak past her defenses and pierce her armor, giving her a moderate wound!

The incubus she knocked down attempts to get back on his own feet again(provoking an AOO) while grumbling from his pain; the wound she inflicted seemed to not have been as deep as she thought, resistant to damage somehow? However, he gets tripped again as he tries to stand an then Towa slashes at him once more with her scythe; not the greatest day for this demon. The wound doesn't look like it went all the way through however, tough skin! He decides that trying to move isn't a good idea an begins to try an use his Greater Teleport ability on the defensive.

The demon with actual wings an leathery skin flaps them wide open, looking a bit more intimidating than before, as he throws his clawed hand in Asher's direction as he then snaps his fingers; his ability of Silence! (DC Will 16)

Zugeta overhears what the old man tells Asher. "Sorry to say old man, but we leave now these guys will just follow. On top of that, I can't in could conscious let you get taken by these things." He then drops the bow. "No time to play with these freaks." Zugeta then gathers power for a half a round, targets the skeleton looking demon, and then fires his burning infusion fire blast yelling in infernal "Nas vuy haf wtrislh duzzdy vypal!"

@Asher: You stave off the silence spell and are able to keep your voice!

@Towa: You stave off the crushing despair an keep the vigor of battle running in your veins!

As the fire blast of energy hurls towards the demon, it connects as he's unable to dodge it and it pierces through his Spell Resistance! However, as the flame subsides and flows upon him, it looks like it didn't even leave a mark as he is aflame! Must have to do with demons being from the fiery pits of hell that they are somewhat resistant to it! "Himimi! pizmyzut odipyw orap xe eizmyzut mfpil!" It says in response to Zugeta's attack!

Asher: The old man is fighting off death, more than 4 HP remaining. Although, the spike in his body might also have something to do with that you reckon.

The old man see's the circle of light surround him, realizing that the three of them weren't going to listen to his warning an try to fight them off. "No, you shouldn't do this!" He shouted as he tried to move but grunted in pain as he felt the sting of the of the metal piece in his back again, powerless to do much of anything.

The wounded incubus attempts to use his ability once more, using it defensively.

Concentration Check: DC 29 1d20+13 = 33ℹ (20 + 13)

This time he was able to do it an vanishes from within Towa's scythe range an appears another forty-five feet away from her as he takes a breath an stands up, getting his weapon at the ready once more.

The uninjured incubus, seeing his curse didn't affect her decides to close the gap with a charge as he pulls out his Scimitar to slice at her from her left! (Charge's don't provoke AOO's)

Charge Attack to Towa: 1d20+16 = 31ℹ (15 + 16)

Damage: 1d6+5 = 8ℹ (3 + 5)

He connects an slashes at her side, spilling more of her blood on the ground!

Burn Danage: 1d6 = 6ℹ (6)

The red demon seems unfazed by the burn damage it's being subjected to! He then attacks Towa to get revenge upon her last attack and failed trip attempt; although some of it seems to have been healed a bit, he was clearly in pain as he stabs at her again from her right!

Attack to Towa: 1d20+12 = 15ℹ (3 + 12)

Damage: 1d8+7 = 8ℹ (1 + 7)

He misses this time though, the last hard hit may have thrown off his aim!

The winged demon huffs and speaks loudly, "Xe wyy haf rytrfuzyv aly ao zmy voral vidchruyw za hafr iuv. Na pizzyr, aldh aly ao zmyp sal'z eryjylz zmy ulyjuzikdy!" As he teleports suddenly and appears fifteen feet from the old man, towards the front of the church. He stands there with his arms crossed; certain with himself that the demons will achieve victory over the three heroes.

Zugeta yells at Asher: "You know, I hate to be that guy, but I think our comrade up there needs you're assistance right now." He then moves forward to get withing 30ft. of the enemies, targets the skeleton looking demon again, and fires a metakinesis blast.

As more flames come towards the skeleton looking demon, this time they dissipate just as they are about to touch him! It seems like these creatures are also resistant to magic! It scoffs as the flames fail to hit him this time as it focuses it attention back to the small woman that won't die easily.

Seeing the demon suddenly appear near him and the old man, Asher will move 15 ft towards towa so the demon is still within reach of his hexes, spells, etc. As he takes the move action Asher will say "Not to alarm you zugeta, but I may need some assistance"

As a standard action, Asher will then attempt to hex the demon with slumber

Towa wanting to further bolster her defenses, would expend another use of her Fervor to cast Protection from Evil on herself(4 left)! (Casting it this way does not provoke an AOO)

New AC: 24 vs evil creatures, 22 regular.

Then, knowing she's gonna have to take a hit in order to give one back, would swing her scythe at the skeletal demon she hit before! As she brings her scythe down upon it, she would shout in infernal, "Iz'w ikafz zupy xe wylv haf kitc za zmy euz!"

Full Round Power Attack #1: d20+16 = 34ℹ (18 + 16)

Damage: 2d4+16 = 21ℹ (1 +4 + 16)

Seeing the creature still standing, she would take another swing at it, but this time attempting to trip it!

Towa hit the demon right across it's face, despite that injury however he was still able to dodge the trip attempt she had made against him!

Asher failed to penetrate the winged demon's Spell Resistance, it scoffs at his attempt to hex him as he move up to the old, looks like he was about to strike but instead waves his left hand up an straight at Asher while speaking Common, "Don't move, pathetic mortals." As he used his ability of Mass Hold Person on Zugeta, Asher, and the old man! (Diameter of 30 ft. so 15 ft. from any direction from Asher)

Will Save DC = 22 or paralyzed for 8 rounds!

The Incubus that was next to Towa was irritated that she wasn't paying any attention to him an tries to strike at her backside with his weapon!

Attack: 1d20+16 = 31ℹ (15 + 16) (+2 from Flank)

Damage: 1d6+5 = 7ℹ (2 + 5)

He would connect and pierce through her defenses, she was possibly in some trouble now!

The injured one, seeing as how strong Towa was, that she was the most threatening, would try to make her incapable of attacking and decides to use his Suggestion ability on her and whispering in her mind via telepathy, "Take off your armor and show us how beautiful you are without it~" He would sensually ask her. (Not naked, since she's wearing clothes but if failed, would make Towa Spend 1 Minute taking off her armor(10 rounds!))

Will Save DC = 18

The red skeleton would angerily try to stab at Towa while his eyes were covered in blood from her last attack, determined to get his revenge!

Attack: 1d20+10 = 21ℹ (11 + 10)

Damage: 1d8+7 = 14ℹ (7 + 7)

However, due to his impaired eyesight, he missed as he stabbed the ground by her feet!

The red skeleton demon finally falls from Towa's powerful hit! It falls face first into the ground from the blow, the longspear skittering across the floor as it began to bleed out from the grievous wound it had just received!

Constitution Check to Stabilize: DC 10 1d20-11 = -5ℹ (6 - 11)

He is unable to stabilize!

The incubus was unable to evade her Trip attack an falls flat on his rear an while he was trying to recover from that attack, she was able to quickly disarm his Scimitar from his hand, scuttling onto the floor next to him! He gritted his teeth angrily at the girl, "Alright, no more holding back!" He says as he followed his demonic brothers idea and defensively uses his Greater Teleport ability to get away from her!

The other Incubus, seeing his ally in trouble and that the red demon is almost surely a goner, he drops his Scimitar and then begins moving his hands as they glow black an he begins muttering an incantation of some kind! What could he be doing?!

The winged demon's eyes flash bright red as he see's Zugeta escape from his spell an that one of his minions has fallen in battle, then smirks widely. "You should have stayed put like a good boy. An that woman warrior...Heh, I'll make you a deal." He says in common as he walks up to the old man surrounded by the light of the Sanctuary spell. "If you let us take this old man an his scripture book, I will personally let you all live. Not a bad deal right?" He says as he then tries to back-hand the old man through the defensive spell! (Non-lethal attack)

Will Save to bypass Sanctuary: 1d20+10 = 18ℹ (8 + 10)

Non-Lethal Attack: 1d20+15-4 = 22ℹ (11 + 15 - 4) (-4 for Non-lethal)

Damage: 1d6+6 = 7ℹ (1 + 6)

He broke through the barrier as if it were nothing! His hand smacked right across the old man's face, making a loud smacking sound reverberate throughout the chapel. He was surprised to see that the old man was still somewhat conscious after that however. "Stubborn as ever I see..." He said with a smirk.

The old man spat blood at the foot of the demon, "You'll never break me, demon. Your lords have failed for decades and they shall continue to do so!"

"Sounds like you're worried big fella. Most people don't negotiate until they think there is a chance they might lose." He then focuses is attention on the demon channeling energy, takes half a turn to gather energy, and fires a burning infusion fire blast.

The flames strike true this time as they make it past his barrier of Spell Resistance and he was unable to avoid the flames as the engulfed his body! He smiled as he almost didn't care at first but then howls out in pain from the flames, while trying to keep his composure from the attack! "How can this fire hurt me?!" He would shout in frustration, his body now burning with fire.

Seeing that the immediate threat of whatever spell or ability the incubus was trying to use is now gone, Towa would take the liberty of further punishing the other incubus still on the ground!! Before doing so, she would expend another use of her Fervor(3 left) to cast Cure Moderate Wounds on herself!

Being that the demon is already on the ground and disarmed, she would bring her scythe down upon it again!!

Full Round Power Attack #2: d20+9 = 12ℹ (3 + 9)

Although it seems like she may have been worn out a bit from her previous strike!

Starting to breathe a but harder, Towa would look directly at the winged demon, shouting back at him, "I would sooner die than ever make a deal with any of you blasted creatures. I've seen far too many friends and allies give in to the coaxing of your kind, only to be stabbed in the back! After I finish with your cronies, I'm coming for you, you overgrown bat."

The winged demon grumbles and bares his sharp, long fangs while looking at the others an seeing his demon minions beginning to fall. "Enough! If you do not wish to bargain for your lives, that is your choice but this old man's life, his very soul, is going to taken an tortured until he translates his writings!" He says as he then winds up for another slap attacks to knock him unconscious for good this time!

Non-lethal Attack: 1d20+15-4 = 27ℹ (16 + 15 - 4)

Damage: 1d6+6 = 10ℹ (4 + 6)

Non-lethal Attack: 1d20+15-4 = 12ℹ (1 + 15 - 4)

Damage: 1d6+6 = 8ℹ (2 + 6)

This time the old man passes out completely from the two heavy-handed slaps as he falls to the floor, his face bloodied and bruised. "Good, now as for the rest of you...I'll leave my minions to disptach of you for good, the tome this man carries is a higher priority than your lives, hehehe." He picks up the old man with ease, along with the piece logded into his body as he looks like he is about to prepare for his escape.

The Incubus get's sliced heavily through his torso from her attack and yells in agony. "You bitch, I'll make you my personal slave rather than killing you!" He said as he attempted to teleport away from her again, defensively casting it!

The other incubus, getting frustrated as his abilities seem to take no effect on Towa, charges her from the outside of the church damaged wall this time though taking flight as he sky-dives towards her, despite being on fire! [-2 AC from Charge]

((Reaction Post to Zugeta attack, also you forgot to include the +2 to overcome SR, you did it for the Attack roll which was good!))

The flames fly through the air and strike the target true as it engulfs him again! It gets past his resistance an he howls in pain, the constant burning and new flames added to it seems to be getting to these demons!

"Thank you, Asher. It's always nice to have a supporter in the ranks!"

Feeling reinvigorated thanks to Asher's healing, Towa would ask for a blessing of Strength from Gorum!

"LORD OF IRON, I ASK THAT YOU BLESS THIS DISCIPLE WITH THE STRENGTH TO SLAY HER ENEMIES!!" ((Strength Blessing gives Towa a bonus to her attack rolls, CMB, Strength based skill checks and and Strength Checks for one round as a swift Action))

She would then bring her scythe down upon the Incubus still on the ground!!

Towa's relentless attacking to the Incubus on the ground as each slash pierced his tough skin made him shout in anger with each one, he was beginning to look to be in bad shape. "Grrr, alright forget making you a slave, I'll just kill you now!" The Incubus on the ground shouts as he once again attempts to use his teleport ability to get away from her, even if for a moment to initiate a counter-attack!

Again, his pain and anger prevent him from using any of his abilities at this point!

The incubus that was flying above in front of Towa growls and decides to stop holding back as he slashes at her two times with his Scimitar now! "You'll regret killing our Babau ally, you filthy whore of a half-elf!"

Total Resistance Reduction from Searing Flame Infusion with Burning: -14

His first attack is made with great effort, cleaving straight through her armor and leaving a grievous wound across her chest and stomach line from the aerial attack! He was exhausted from it for his follow up, as he completely missed on that.

The winged Demon laughs manically and spreads his wings as he uses his Greater Teleport ability to vanish from sight from the group, along with the old man in his arms, it seems you weren't able to save him but you can still carry on his mission for him, as what he would have wanted!

Towa would spit some blood on the ground from the previous hit saying, "Well, well, well, it looks like you actually can put up a fight. Let me finish off your persistent friend here and I'll let you know how it feels to take a hit again! Asher, I appreciate the support! Hothead, it seems like whatever you're doing is working, so keep it up! We'll bring these bastards down sooner rather than later!"

Towa would expend another use of her Fervor(2 left) to cast Cure Moderate Wounds on herself once again!

CMW: 2d8+6 = 14ℹ (5 +3 + 6)

Towa would then bring her scythe down upon the incubus on the ground, hoping to finally kill it!

Full Round Power Attack #1: 1d20+16 = 35ℹ (19 + 16)

Damage: 2d4+17 = 22ℹ (3 +2 + 17)

Roll to Confirm Critical: 1d20+16 = 35ℹ (19 + 16)

Damage from Critical: 4d4+34 = 46ℹ (4 +4 +3 +1 + 34)

Towa would then take a 5 foot step back to swing at the incubus in the air!

As Towa slashed at the demon on the ground, it went through his tough chest and made a deep blood splatter as he howled in pain an then passed out, dying on the spot from the grievous wound he had just received!

Constitution Check to Stabilize DC 10 1d20+2 = 10ℹ (8 + 2)

He was able to stabilize!

The one in the air was still reeling from the flames that were eating away at its flesh from Zugeta; never having felt fire like this before caused him to be distracted!

She spun around to hit the one in the air, she severed some of the tendons in his wings and caused him to fall face first into the ground, his weapon skittering across the ground as he hit the ground with a loud thud! Twitching an groaning as he slowly lost consciousness.

Constitution Check to Stabilize DC 10 1d20-1 = 1ℹ (2 - 1)

He continues to bleed out on the ground...

Congratulations! Encounter Concluded, all Hostiles dead or fled!

Encounter XP: 2400 (Each)

Story XP: 400 (Each) For keeping the book Safe but failing to save the Old Man...

The three demons lay motionless on the ground, either bleeding out or unconscious from their wounds. The winged demon no longer anywhere in sight as the group is able to catch their breath from the sudden attack at the church. It seems all had calmed down a bit now that the immeadite danger was gone but the realization that their contractor was gone...possibly for good or worse, though the item he wanted them to have was still in their possession so there was at least no worries about what they should do next but just the question if anyone in the party could in fact translate the text from it's Aklo origins? Or would the group need to find a scholar somewhere that could help them figure things out? So many more questions than answers were coming up now an before they could truly get their footing, the town bell would ring three times...the signal that a horde was on it's way to the city! Should they rush to the town's aid or should they focus their energies on what lay before them? So many decisions...so little time to make them.

Zugeta takes a moment to walk over to where he dropped his bow, pick it back up, and put it back on his back as his eyes turn back from fiery red to their normal green. "Well lads, I think those bells mean it's time for us to be on our way. We'll have to do formal introductions on the road, we do have a contract of sorts after all."

Before doing anything else, and without saying a word, Towa would make her way over to each demon to be sure they were dead, starting with the incubus in front of her.

Coup de Grace #1(incubus #1): 6d4+51 = 72ℹ (3 +2 +4 +4 +4 +4 + 51)

Coup de Grace #2(incubus #2): 6d4+51 = 68ℹ (1 +3 +4 +3 +3 +3 + 51)

Coup de Grace #3(babau): 6d4+51 = 67ℹ (4 +1 +2 +2 +3 +4 + 51)

After pulling her scythe out of the final demon, she would shout, "MY LORD OF IRON, I GIVE PRAISE TO YOU FOR AIDING ME IN OBTAINING VICTORY OVER THESE EVIL BEINGS! I PLEDGE MY UNDYING AND UNWAIVERING LOYALTY TO YOU, MY LORD GORUM! YOU, WHO BLESS ME WITH STRENGTH AND COMBAT PROWESS, I ASK YOU TO CONTINUE BLESSING ME WITH YOUR GUIDANCE!!"

Each pause, rather than being able to hear the sound of her taking a breath, Asher and Zugeta would hear the sound of metal smashing against metal as Towa beats her scythe against her breastplate. She would then take a knee, resting her scythe against her shoulder, taking a slight pause before continuing.

"I HAVE SLAIN THREE MORE EVIL BEINGS FOR YOU, ON THIS DAY. TWO INCUBUS AND ONE BABAU DEMON. I DEDICATE THESE VICTORIES TO YOU, ALONG WITH ALL OTHERS WHICH YOU GUIDE ME TO ON THIS DAY!!"

She would then lower her head for a few moments before raising back to her feet and saying,

"I am still ready and willing for more combat if you two are. These three may have been a challenge, but the hordes are more fodder than anything else."

"Taking on an army would be nothing short of suicide with just us three, and we have been given a very important task. I believe we should at least see what the commotion is and possibly help." As Asher is saying all of this he will hurriedly put the books and journal the old man gave him in his handyhaversack, along with his crossbow.

"Towa it sounds like you are ready for more fighting. Zugeta if you want out, now is the time. Given all that has happened here today, I honestly wouldn't blame you one bit."

As Asher is saying all of this he will take out a wand of cure light wounds [to kinnon: the first wand on the list]

"If you both wish to say, there is spell of sorts I would like to quickly cast on you both. It will link your life forces to mine, and I can help keep you alive provided you stay within medium range of me. I would like to explain it more, but time is not something we have very much of right now. What will it be everyone?"

"I never said I wanted out, I will see this mission through or die, whichever happens first I suppose. I do believe though that staying here and fighting the horde that is coming is not the best use of our time. This is an example of the needs of the many need to out weigh the needs of the few. Stay we do managed to fight of this horde, what happens then? I'll tell you what happens, they send more demons, and they'll keep sending them until this city is nothing but ash. We manage to hold them off all we do is delay the inevitable downfall of this city and put everyone else in the worlds lives in jeopardy. I'm not sure if you both realize this, but that last fight was not a victory, it was a defeat. They delayed our mission and took what we needed to figure out that book which means they lost a few, easy to replace, foot soldiers while we have lost time and resources while they are continuing to move forward so who really won? Now, I think I know some people who might be able to help, I've traveled all over the region I'm sure I can find someone who can figure that book out."

He then puts up his hood walks over to Asher and holds out his hand.

"If you and her want to stay here and waste time on something that in the end you cannot hope to win that's up to you, but if that's the case then hand over that old man's journal so that I can find someone to read it and give this world just a little bit of hope......"

He pauses as his eyes once again gain their fiery glow before finishing his thought with an anger in his eyes.

"If you're going to stand in the way of that then I will not hesitate to burn you ash because you are not only jeopardizing my life, but everyone else in the worlds as well. My mission is simple, cleanse the world's evil with the flames of Sarenrae until the day that I die. If that journal is the key I need to doing so then I don't care what happens to you as long as I am able to do what I must to survive and continue my mission."

I will not give you my life story Zugeta, but contrary to what you might think, I am no fool. Believe me I am very much aware of the big picture here, and what is at stake. I will hesitate at nothing to see this mission through.

However, as I said, I think we should at least scout things out and see what the commotion is. If it is anything like we fought here then I think we should just move on.

On the other hand, the threat may be managable. If one of the townsfolk knew the old man and what he was working on they may be able to help us decode the journal. And if not, we at least save some lives in the process.

Asher then turns to Towa and says "What do you think of all this? If you agree with Zugeta, then I will not argue with you two. We are wasting precious time as it is"

"You both say that we are wasting time and yet you continue to drag on with your woes. Cast whatever spell you need to on us, Asher, and let's get going. While I'd like to slay some more demons, what Zugeta said does have merit. These raids have been going on for how long now and there are still people around. The faster we can destroy the demon lords, the faster we save everyone."

ooc: here is what life link does: "Each round at the start of your turn, if [you are] wounded for 5 or more hit points below maximum hit points, [you] heal 5 hit points and [I] take 5 hit points of damage." So let me know when you are wounded for 5 hp below max. So long as you are within medium distance of Asher, and no one goes unconscious/dies, the link will remain.

As the group would finish their ramblings an bickerings, it would seem they made the decision to have the town fend for itself as it has the last several years and it is still standing, mostly. As they would get to the doors, leaving the corpses of the demons behind them, they can hear the yells and shouts of both humans an demons in the distance as the fighting began to ensue. There were a couple of beggars running towards the church in panic but stopped dead in their tracks as they saw the three exiting it's broken doors; a sight otherwise not uncommon save for the blood that covered Towa from all her wounds as well as the blood from the demon's she had just slain, glistening on her long exotic scythe. "You...you didn't kill Hazgan, did you? The old man had little powers but he didn't ever hurt anyone...he was a good man, tell me you didn't kill him!" One of the beggars, a frail looking half-ling female came up to them; tears in her eyes, her fists clenched as she had already assumed the worst had befallen the old one. The other two stood still, waiting for the groups response.

"We were commissioned by that old man to take care of everything. We were ambushed by a small group of demons and one of them got away with him before we could save him. The blood I'm covered in is both mine and those beasts, so no, we did not harm the old goat." Towa would say as she wipes her face a bit to get some of the blood off.

"As my companion said, I assure we did nothing to harm him. On the contrary, we did everything we could to help him but...he was captured. Though we only met briefly, I can tell Hazgan is a good man. I shall pray to iomede for his safety and I assure we will not take the transgressions of these demons lightly."

Asher will then attempt a diplomacy roll to calm the beggars down and ease their grief a bit

With Asher's calming words after Towa's bluntness about the predicament, they all seemed relived at first but instead of fear on their faces it is instead replaced with despair and loss of hope in their situation. "That's not much better...he's gone, if he couldn't protect himself from the demons...and you three couldn't save him...hehe, there's...there's no point in trying to find a haven from these monsters..." The female halfling said with a monotone voice, a hint of sadness welled in it as she slowly went to the steps, sat down an began to cry a bit. The others followed suit with her, grovelling at the ground of the church, all hope lost.

The group could try to help them or say some words of grace but it would maybe compromise their secret mission...nor did they have the time to spare really, they needed to get started as soon as possible so scenes like these wouldn't come anymore.

((OOC: If anyone having the Knowledge Local or Knowledge History to see if they can recall anyone that might speak the old language, you may do so. Or conversely, attempt diplomacy checks to try and ask around town to see if any of the towns people have something to assist with, perhaps at a price? Just suggestions for you guys to start thinking creatively about how to progress the story!))

Zugeta & Towa: Both of you recall that there was once a library in this town an that there were still yet a few scholars who knew many things that stayed in this island town in the marshlands. Perhaps a quick stop there would yield results for the group?

Asher: Due to Iomadae's fight against demons and devil's mostly on the surface realm, not dealing much with the Darklands an such of the eldritch fey. If there were anyone that had that knowledge it would only be the highest of the clergy, far away in the city-state Absalom. It would take possibly a month to reach it, too long to make it viable.

After walking away from the crying townspeople, Towa would retrieve her map our of her backpack, saying, "I know a place which is the home of some scholars that may be able to help us that isn't too far away. I suggest that we head there first and see what they know."

She would say this as she continues to walk away from the crying townspeople, not wanting to get caught up in their sorrow.

After Towa would just show on the map the location that she had thought of, Zugeta was able to confirm that it was indeed the same place he had spoken of before; it wasn't an assassination mission like the ones he did before, it was a bodyguard one for transportation of some of the scholars in the past going to another town, when the demon invasion wasn't as horrible as it is these days. Towa had met them when she was with her old troupe, looking for the similar kind of phylacteries that Hazgan had just shown them; looks like they were close but asking the wrong people at that time.

It would only take them about 20 minutes to reach the all wooden building-bridge like structure; Tamran was a city of mostly bridge connected islands or floating buildings built of wood, the church and Town Hall were built on the only solid grounded areas. In the distance they could see the flames of war, literally flames mind you, going back an forth between the freedom-seeking city folk an the demon/devil horde. It would seem that they would be able to hold them off again this day but one could never tell from first glances.

Once they had made it to the ramshackle of library, they saw the doors were open. Unusual for this place, from what the two remembered but then a tired looking scholar came out in dirty robes, wiping his brow with a handkerchief; he looked tired and as if he had been working all night. You two wouldn't remember his name(Roll base INT check if you REALLY want to))as he sees you coming towards him and he raises his hand as a signal to stop you, speaking in a raspy voice. "I'm terrible sorry my knowledge seekers but this library is closed to the public right now...we had a uhh, situation that needed to be cleaned up and rebuilt after a small devil had made his way in. Don't fret though, a few days is all we need and we'll be open once more, hehe."

"We don't have a few days to waste, gramps. We're kind of on a mission here more important than your clean-up duty, so if you could help us out and not waste our time, we'd much appreciate it." Towa would say very callously as she keeps walking.

Zugeta keeps walking toward the old man, "Listen old man, I helped you guys in the past so now you're gonna help us out because the sooner you help us, the sooner we can be on our way to saving your town and the others that are still standing. Sounds like a win win for you, we got a deal? I'd take the deal too, my comrade with the aggressive attitude doesn't play very nice when she doesn't get her way."

The old scholar double's back after being constantly approached and countered by the two half-elves pressing their advance into the library. "W-Wait a second! I don't know who either of you think you are b-but you can't just walk in here without Sebastian's approval!" He would say as he quickly got in the way of the single-door entrance. "You, mercenary looking fellow! If you have helped us in the past, y-your name would be known by him yes? Give it and I will return after speaking with him to see if your story holds weight! You, man of the cloth, yes? Can you please ask your companions to cease their crass behaviors?!" He would ask Asher with a nervous look on his face, as his legs trembled in fear but stood fast in his position.

Zugeta puts his hand on Towa's shoulder to halt her slightly. "Name is Zugeta, hurry on now, you wouldn't want her to get any more impatient and I'm not sure how long me and my friend Asher back there can really hold her back."

"Iron Valkyries?! Hmmm, o-ok and it was Zugeta? Familiar names b-but still, I need to check with him first! Don't come in, I'll be right back." He would shakily say as he turned around, shut the door an you could hear a audible click of a lock being set into place as he takes off to talk to this Sebastian fellow of the Library; could he be like the head scholar of this location? You would find out soon enough it would seem.

((It would take about 10 minutes for him to return; you could wait an talk about future plans, get to know each other, or...break down the door if you so truly wish but there could be consequences))

"I think I should try to do the talking next time. But at least we are getting results I suppose..." Asher says

Asher clears his throat and says "But yes, it is indeed nice weather" As he tries to change the topic and move on

"While we are waiting I have another spell I can cast on you two, with your permission, that might be of benefit. In the event that you fall on unconscious, your armor will move on its own and hopefully get you our of harm's way. I would have done this earlier, but it is difficult to walk and cast spells at the same time."

If Towa and Zugeta allow him to do so, Asher will cast revenant armor on them both.

To kinnon: casting time is one standard action, so I assume that casting this spell twice can be done within 10 minutes.

To Asher: You would have more than enough time to cast the spells on your companions before the timer runs out for the scholar to come back from his errand.

As the group waited, they would hear footsteps coming from behind the door as it opens to show the same man as before as he motions his hand to indicate for them to enter. "Sebastian has said you are free to enter an peruse at your leisure, sirs and madam. If you were to need anything from him in particular you merely need to ask me to take him to you; he is quite busy with reconciling the library's contents after the recent uhh...incident." He said the last part as he looked to the ground and rubbed the back of his head as he went over to a nearby desk an began to scribble something on a piece of parchment.

From the outside it may not look like much other than being mistaken for a tavern or an inn even but once inside it was a different sight; two story bookshelves greeted them as they entered, stacked with books and several different writings in several languages to help those find the section they needed. There were tall stairs that were scattered about to reach the tallest of spots an multiple single and double desks for people to study in peace and quiet. However, you see now what the scholar was perhaps referring to as the 'incident'; there was a large burnt circle in the shape of a pentagon in the middle of it, with a couple knocked over bookshelves that had scorch marks on them an some blood stains in the surrounding area.

Zugeta begins to walk around the pentagon, checking out the bookshelves seeing if that maybe targeted that area for a reason. He then turns to the man who let them in.

"This looks interesting, anyway, where can I find Sebastian exactly? Time is of the upmost importance, not that you wouldn't be able to help us, but if you need his permission then I think he might be a little more...... helpful."

Seeing that Zugeta is handling things with the library attendant, Asher will do a knowledge planes check on the circle in the middle to maybe determine if it belong to a specific type of demon, perhaps the same ones that attacked the church?

"Ah, ah! The audacity of your proclamation sir is truly atrocious! I'll have you know that I've been here as long as Head Librarian Sebastian and have just as many articles of exemplary submissions and corrections for historical documents, to the leading peoples nation of Zimar! Why, I can't begin to tell you how much work there was to be done in these last couple of decades with looters, robbers and the demons themselves!" He begins to drone on and on about other anecdotes or experiences he's had that are almost equal to, on a technical level, to that of Sebastian's.

Towa would find an intact book of 'Planar Beings from the Realms Beyond'; it wasn't quite the most detailed book one would find in the library but it did indeed explain a lot about the different kinds of demons that would be encountered in the Abyssal and Infernal realms, sure to be handy for any demon hunter with the basics about their personalities, types, and potential weaknesses.

Asher could see that the diagram was very similar to the one that appeared beneath the demon in the church that had fled them earlier after it had taken Hazgan away...perhaps it knew it was written in the old eldritch fey language after probing the old mans mind? Did Hazgan betray them after hearing what tortures awaited him? Not enough information was available to make a judgment call like that but it can be confirmed the demon did come here before them.

"Scholar, how much for this tome? I know that the books in this library are very important to you all, but I believe this one will greatly aid us in our quest. Taking from our previous battle, we need all the help we can get when it comes to fighting these things. My cloaked ally there had great difficulty striking true with his fire attacks against the Incubi and from what they said, a Babau. I can only assume they have some sort of resistance to fire at the time and this tome seems to agree with me."

Towa would shout as she continues to read through the book. Even though she is not typically the studious type, if it assists her in defeating her enemies, especially demons, she is more than happy to take time out of her day to peruse through it.

Asher will wait for the library attendent/scholar to respond to towa's question. While doing so, Asher will cast enhanced diplomacy on himself. giving himself a +2 to dimplomacy.

After the scholar responds to towa Asher will say to him:

"my apologizes for my companion; I know that they wouln't allow people to work here if they were not very knowledgeable. Also, I must say that I am very impressed with the work you have done to keep up the library despite all the demonic happenings in the world. I can't imagine that it is easy, and I am glade to see there are those who still know the value of knowledge."

diplomacy check to appease to the scholar and make him more agreeable to the group:

1d20 +14 = 19ℹ (5 + 14)

After a brief pause, Asher will ask the scholar "I am curious though, do you have any idea why the demons attacked? Was it just some random act?"

In response to Towa's question, the scholar halts his ramblings enough to answer her question. "Well miss, we really aren't a book store as so much of a accessible location of information but...due to the situation, we could certainly see about letting you have it if you mission is to slay the demons. I would just have to log that book an see if we have any extra's in the basement or if I can quickly recreate it." He would say as he then watched Zugeta suddenly leave angrily and ignore him.

"Short temper on that one and rude to boot. He won't find Sebastion on his own so no need , regardless, I'll be right over." He would say as he went over to the little Towa and looked at the book and nodded his head. "Oh yes, I know for a fact we have backup copies of this exact tome so you can just have it. I made them myself after the invasion first started, a little initiative I took upon myself." He said proudly as he then heard Asher speaking to him.

After hearing him out, the scholar felt vey relived that someone had appreciated the work he did and the accomplishments he had made. "It is truly a gift when I encounter another of intellectual thinking such as yourself sir, truly. I will never stop pursuing knowledge or preserving it and as to the demon coming in...yes, I do know and they took the only tome of translating the language of the Eldritch Fey, Aklo. It was the oldest tome we had an we were getting around to copying it into our archives this week as a matter of fact but they caught us off guard and killed two other librarians, leaving me and Sebastian really. He said that he'd kill us all and Hazgan if we didn't give it to him, so we did..."

EDIT: Zugeta would see that most of the library is a single floor but a hallway would lead to a downstairs to a basement of some kind.